Anita Posevitz-Fejfar
University Hospital Muenster, Germany
Posters & Accepted Abstracts: J Tissue Sci Eng
Processing and storage of PBMCs (peripheral blood mononuclear cells) is a newly emerging field within biospecimen research. Due to the steadily growing demand for high quality living cells in translational medical research, including clinical trials, there is an increasing interest in studying the variables that influence the survival and fitness of PBMCs under different conditions. Here, the effect of blood-shipment on the viability, phenotype and functionality of PBMCs is presented. Blood was collected from healthy volunteers at a distal location and in the central laboratory. PBMC were isolated and stored. Analysis was carried out postcryopreservation. The effect of blood shipping and pre-processing delay on immune cell phenotype and function (proliferation and cytokine production) has been investigated on cellular and subcellular levels. Major immune cell subsets and particularly the functionality of T-cells were analyzed. While NK and B-cell frequencies were altered due to pre-processing transportation, T-cell subsets largly retained their phenotype and function. We identify proliferation assay as a robust read-out for monitoring fitness of T-lymphocytes in multi-center studies and report cytokines in which production is altered and thereby are not suitable read-outs in studies where blood is collected from multiple sites and transported to central processing. We highlight the importance of appropriate controls and careful test-running when planning read-outs for multicentric studies. Higly standardized central processing can be of an advantage despite the logistical challenges.
Journal of Tissue Science and Engineering received 807 citations as per Google Scholar report
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